Changes
by Tie-grr
Summary: What happens when Cal and Gillian find an abandoned baby in the parking lot of their building? Callian fluff and likely angst.
1. Chapter 1

_I have decided to rewatch all of Lie to Me and just had to write something. Here's hoping I finish it! This was an idea I toyed with for another fandom but never did go anywhere. I thought it would fit Cal and Gillian nicely._

* * *

Somebody was watching him. The sensation was something he had always been aware of and it had definitely saved his hide in the past. It made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end and something would itch in the back of his skull. He could count on one hand the number of times his instinct had been off. This wasn't one of those times.

"See something you like, darlin'?"

He didn't need to look up to know who it was but he sat back in his chair and pulled his glasses from his face. They clattered onto the desk as he turned his gaze to his visitor. The look on her face screamed indulgence and he wiggled his eyebrows, blowing her a kiss.

"I see you're on top form, this evening."

"Aren't I always?" He clapped his hands and jumped to his feet. A few lopsided strides had him within just a few feet of the beautiful Gillian Foster. For once he kept some distance. "Do you spend long looking at my form?"

"All the time, Cal.." She deadpanned.

"See, knew it!" Now he closed the distance, getting right up in her face. "Did you need somethin'?"

"I was about to head home." She lifted her coat for emphasis and he noticed her bag was over her shoulder too. "Wanted to make sure you weren't about to sleep in your office. Again. You know, just because Emily is staying with Zoe doesn't mean you shouldn't stay at your house, either."

"Nah, it's too empty, too quiet. Besides which, you complain at me for not doing work and now you're complainin' at me for working too hard. You need to make your mind up."

"You need to sleep in a bed, Cal. Not on that couch."

"You offering, love?"

She rolled her eyes and lightly batted his shoulder. He grinned and took a step back. He had pushed it but it was so fun that he just couldn't resist. Besides, who wouldn't want to be close to a beauty like Foster? Her perfume could literally intoxicate him from ten metres.

"All right, all right. Let me turn the computer off and get my coat. You can even walk me to my care if it makes you feel better?"

"Much."

Two minutes later they were walking out of the building, side by side. The underground parking lot was almost empty, the workers in the rest of the building having gone home at a normal hour. The Lightman group was anything but normal and that especially went for its founder. Despite his earlier comment, Cal walked Gillian to her car, his hand lightly resting on her back.

The two had a very tactile relationship. Sometimes it drove him completely up the wall, all of the hugs and kisses and soft touches. It was enough to drive a saint to drink and he was no saint. Often their touches were nothing, just brushes of a hand over an arm or soft lips against a rough cheek. But the more time went on the more difficult it became for his heart to separate the friendly touches from his growing feelings. He always squashed them to the best of his abilities.

They stopped at her car and she started to root through her bag for her keys. He shoved his hands into his pockets and watched the concentration on her face. So beautiful.. Too beautiful. She would be the death of him. The triumphant look on her face when she located her keys nearly floored him.

"Thanks for walking with me, Cal."

"Don't mention it, darlin'. You take care of yourself, now. I'll see you in the morning." His hands were still buried in his pockets but they itched to push aside that lock which had fallen over her eye. She brushed it aside and her gaze met his.

"I'll see you in the morning. Good night." They leant into each other for a brief peck on the cheek and he turned on his heel, ambling off towards his car.

Maybe one day he would be brave enough to try for a peck on the lips. Could he pass it off as a mistake? He doubted she would ever believe that, coming from him. She knew him far too well and he was not about to run the risk of ruining the friendship between them. The line was there for a reason.. Her stupid line. _Their_ stupid line. He huffed a sigh and dug out his keys.

"Cal!" The shout made his blood run cold. The desperation and urgency in just three small letters.. He never wanted to hear it again.

His keys crashed to the floor and he ran as fast as he could to cross the twenty metres to where he had left her. She had only been standing by her care, how could she have gotten in trouble? And how could he have not heard anything? If she was hurt and he had failed to hear anything – failed her. Nothing could have prepared him for the sight which greeted him the moment he rounded her car.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"He's freezing cold, Cal.." Without a second thought he shrugged out of his coat and held it out to her. Together they wrapped the little bundle in the woollen coat, still a little warm from his body. He ended up with the bundle in his arms whilst Gillian picked up a box from the ground.

"How did you.. Where did you get him?" He looked down at the little face wrapped in layers of black wool and thin blue blanket.

"He was just here. I saw the box as I was about to get in the car. Who puts a baby in a box and leaves it in the parking garage?!"

Both of them were outraged but the tiny bundle in his arms really was cold. He was awfully pale, though breathing properly. His cheeks were cold when Cal brushed his finger over them.

"Let's get him upstairs and warmed up. Then we can worry about all this."

* * *

Cal was settled on the couch in his office, lying along the length of it with his legs crossed at the ankles. After ten minutes in the main building he was confident enough to remove the bulky coat and simply leave the baby in his blanket. He had some colour back in his cheeks and had even opened his eyes – a stunning blue. He had yet to make a peep, he just watched Cal as he watched him back. The two could have had a staring contest.

"What's in there then?"

Gillian had been pacing up and down for the last few minutes and he hoped to distract her a little. They had made a call to Loker and Torres and they were waiting for the pair to arrive with some supplies.

"The box, Gill." He tore his gaze from the baby to look at her. She was still pacing and as she came up beside him he reached out to catch a hold of her arm. His hand slid down to her wrist and he gave her a gentle squeeze.

Her gaze was distant until it finally focused on him. For a moment he saw longing but it wasn't aimed at him. There was a reason he had designated himself the baby holder. He could see that flicker of life return to her and she nodded.

"Yes, the box.." She patted his shoulder lightly and retrieved said box, emptying the contents.

The box was just your run-of-the-mill cardboard box, lacking any markings of any sort and held together on the bottom by brown tape. The top had never been sealed - new. Gillian placed the contents out across the desk and Cal soon joined her, the little boy contently cradled against his chest.

"Is that a letter?" An envelope was already in her hands. Nothing had been written on the front but somebody had taken the time to tape it sealed.

"More of a note." She frowned as she read it. She handed it over and he squinted without his glasses.

' _My name is Jacob, I am six months old. Please look after me.'_

"Is that it? Nothin' else?"

"Nothing. Literally nothing." He could feel her frustration as she threw down the empty envelope. "I can't believe somebody would just dump their child in a parking garage in just a cardboard box and a thin blanket. In winter!"

"People no longer surprise me.."

"As a race we are capable of truly disgusting things." The new voice in the room announced the arrival of Loker, closely followed by Torres. Each had a paper bag in their arms which were quickly deposited on the couch. "You know, several hundred years ago humans-"

"Not now, Loker. Got diapers?"

"Here." Cal grabbed the bag in his free hand and disappeared into the library.

"I have-" Eli watched him go and frowned, looking for explanation. The smell suddenly hit him and his face screwed up in disgust. "Whoa."

Gillian leant back against Cal's desk and took a deep breath. She was getting overwhelmed by the situation and she hated losing control like this. Especially when she needed to focus because a baby was involved. She tried her best to push down the feelings which threatened to break the surface.. Now was not the time to be thinking about Sophie. She had to focus on Jacob.

From her seat on the desk she could see Cal changing the baby's diaper. His back was facing him but she could hear the soft murmur of him talking to the baby as he worked.

"Does anyone want to tell us wha-" Once again Loker was cut off, this time as Gillian walked into the study to join Cal. "Am I invisible?"

"Who said that?" Torres made an exaggerated show of looking around the room.

"Ha ha, real funny. You've been around Lightman too long."

"I have not!"

The argument outside was lost to Gillian as she slowly approached her partner. He was knelt on the floor over little Jacob, busy changing him with a wipe in one hand.

"There we go, nice and clean." He apparently hadn't noticed her presence. He grabbed a fresh diaper from the contents of the paper bag now spread across the floor. "No talc, of course. That is the last time I let Loker do the shoppin'. I'll make him change the next one as punishment."

She watched the pair from a few feet away, a smile threatening to break her face in half. She had seen Cal with children many times over the last several years but never with a little baby. Her heart was quite literally melting in her chest.

Cal carefully wrapped the baby in a fresh diaper and closed the baby grow. "Thanks for not peeing on me."

"Now I would have paid to see that."

He swivelled around to stare at her and pointed at her with one hand. "I told you to stop doing that."

"And I told you that it's funny, why should I stop?"

"I could have dropped Jacob and that would have been your fault." He wrapped the baby tightly in his blanket again and cradled him against his chest so he could stand. "How about being nice to the bloke with the baby?"

"I am very nice, thank you."

"Liar." He grinned, getting up close. His arm very nearly brushed against her and both of them looked down at the same time. The baby had made a soft noise, distracting them both.

"What are we going to do with him?"

"I'll take him home. I said the house was empty, after all. Be nice to have a bit of noise. Wanna come play sleepover? I promise to wear my jammies." He winked before wandering back into the office.

Loker and Torres had finished arguing by the time they reappeared and had unpacked the second bag of shopping. Cal immediately pointed at the table as he passed. "Pack that up, and the other one. Bring it to my car."

"You might want these, then?" Eli dangled the forgotten keys to his boss' care from one finger. Cal paused and snatched them from his hand.

"There's a present for you in there. See you down at the car. Enjoy!"

"Wait, you can't just walk out of here. What about the cops? You have to call someone."

"Do I?" When Cal approached Eli it was in his most intimidating manner. "And just what are they gonna do? Take him to some social worker where he'll be stuck into the system until they possibly find his parents? Not to mention it's nearly midnight. No cops."

Without another word he strolled out of the room with Gillian in tow. Eli looked mildly concerned. "Present? That doesn't mean what I think it does.. Does it?"

Ria patted his shoulder and followed her bosses, doing her best to juggle the two requested bags.


	2. Chapter 2

_Shorter chapter this time around, some wonderful fluff. Next chapter shall be fluff too, then down to the actual reality of finding a poor abandoned baby._

* * *

It had turned out that Gillian had to drive them back to Cal's place, leaving his car back at work. He still refused to let go of the baby which meant that she had to drive. He could see the look on her face and immediately felt guilty. The ride to his place was awfully silent and he couldn't blame her. He had been caught out, trying to keep the baby from her in a vain attempt to keep her from pain. He would have to make it up to her somehow.

The brown paper bags were dumped on the counter in the kitchen as Cal went in search of something for the baby. He started up the stairs then suddenly turned back to her and held out the little boy.

"I need both my hands." He said by way of explanation, but they both knew what this action really meant. She hesitated for a moment and took him.

"What are you doing?"

"I need to get some things for him.. You might as well make yourself comfortable. Gotta go where the spiders live. Unless you want to join in?"

"Oh, no, you handle those spiders yourself." He laughed as she turned to sit on the couch instead. The sight of Gillian sitting on his couch, cooing to a baby gave him feelings that he really did not want to confront. He hurried up the stairs to see what he could find of Emily's old baby stuff.

Ten minutes later he came back down the stairs, crashing something wooden against the wall until he finally put it down on the table. He shuddered and swiped at his arms and body in case any spiders or webs lingered, doing a little dance.

"Easy there, twinkle toes, you might wake him up." He looked up to see her watching and grinned.

"Do you like my dancing, darlin'?"

"Leaves something to be desired. What's that?" She carefully stood up and returned to the kitchen to check out what he had found. "Is that a drawer, Cal?"

"What? I don't have a crib and there was a really big spider. Literally this big." He held out his hands at least a foot apart.

She gently pushed one hand into the other and shook her head. "You know, I somehow doubt that."

"Yeah, well, you weren't there, were ya? Just gonna have to believe me."

Though he had only produced a wooden drawer from what she reckoned was probably the dresser from his bedroom, he had padded it with some t-shirts so it was soft at the very least. He presented the drawer with a flourish. "Ta daa…"

Very carefully she placed Jacob in the makeshift bed and smiled as he seemed content, barely even stirring. He was a heavy sleeper. Cal looked very pleased with himself so she gave him a light slap on his arm. The look on his face was comical.

"Don't wake the baby, Cal." She warned, knowing he was about to launch into a tirade about how mean she was.

"I won't, I promise." He did rub his arm as though it really hurt, just to make her smile. "But now the little fella is sorted out, I had best get you sorted too. Figured you wouldn't want to go home?"

A blush tinged her cheeks and she tried to hide from him but it was no use. He couldn't stop his smile as he reached for something else that he had brought down with him. A t-shirt and some pajama bottoms. "It's all I have, I'm afraid."

"They're perfect, thanks." She had worn Cal's coats before but never had she imagined she would be wearing only his clothes to bed in his house. Actually, she had imagined it before. She had dreamt of it, as much as she didn't want to admit it to herself, she had dreamt of a similar situation many times. Often with less clothing. _Not now_.

"You can take my bed and I shall take Em's." He caught the confusion on her face and continued. "Nothing would annoy her more than knowing I was sleeping in her bed. Especially in my underwear."

"Cal." She laughed, shaking her head.

"I'm serious, love. Mine's the best bed in the house, I promise. You go up and change while I take care of this stuff and bring the little guy upstairs. I'll take care of him through the night.. I don't mind getting up."

She knew there was no point in arguing with him so she thanked him with a gentle kiss against his bristly cheek. She checked on Jacob one last time before heading up the stairs, leaving the two boys behind.

Cal waited until he was sure that she was out of earshot before he started to unpack the bags of supplies for little Jacob. There were more diapers, pots of baby food and even some fresh clothes. It looked like they were the right size too. "Not too bad, Torres."

No doubt Jacob would be hungry during the night as there was no way to tell when he last ate anything. He seemed happy enough sleeping right now. Cal carefully lifted the makeshift bed and followed Gill upstairs, turning off lights as he went. Emily's room was nice and tidy so finding a spot to put Jacob for the night was pretty easy. Close enough to the bed but out of the way so as not to trip over him in the night. One last check confirmed the baby was sleeping so Cal ambled on down the hall to his room.

"Is it okay to come in, darlin'?"

Gillian nearly jumped when she heard his voice. He hadn't knocked, just spoken through the closed door. She had been looking at herself in his full length mirror, dressed all in his clothing. She could get used to this. She smoothed a hand down the oversized t-shirt before answering. "Yes, it's fine."

Her clothes were neatly folded on top of the dresser, next to the pile of clothes he had removed from the missing drawer. She backed against it when he entered. He took a few steps in before stopping. She watched as his eyes trailed up and down her body, doing her best to ignore the tingling feeling rapidly spreading throughout her. His gaze was always intense but this was so much more.

Suddenly he was moving, stepping ever closer to her. She wished that she hadn't backed up against the dresser because the look on his face sent all sorts of shivers down her body, a feeling she normally ignored. He stopped inside her personal space, their noses almost touching. Without her shoes on he was looking down at her. Her breathing was coming out faster than normal, an effect of his closeness. She could smell him and she really did not want to admit just how good it was. She swallowed hard and tried to calm her muddled mind. The sudden grin on his face showed her just how much he was enjoying himself.

"I just needed something to wear to bed. I was only teasing about the underwear thing." He spoke so softly she would not have heard him if he wasn't so close to her. She only nodded, unable to find words, and looked down. She knew she was blushing.

He stepped back but she kept her face hidden behind her hair. "Thank you again.. For use of your bed. You're too kind."

"You want to watch the compliments, darlin', I might get used to it."

It turned out that he hasn't moved as far away as she had thought. When she lifted her head he was still awfully close to her personal bubble, gazing at her intensely yet again. Her brain decided to make it ten times more difficult to put a sentence together.

"Goodnight, love." He kissed her cheek softly and left her standing there, though she was sure she saw a smug smile on his face as he walked away. He was insufferable.. And she absolutely loved it. No doubt her dreams would be filled with her partner.


End file.
